Time spent
by the.angel.on.my.shoulder
Summary: Maybe he was a sadist, and she a masochist, but they still had their moments. Sasusaku;Drabbles
1. The Rain and Her

It's on rainy days that he notices her the most.  
>He hates them. Really.<br>Hates the cold and wet and dark,even though he makes it a point to switch off all the lights in the little apartment he stays in, now that they're all dead.

But when it's raining and she's outside, she's different.  
>Sometimes she's dancing around and sticking her tongue out at Naruto or smiling coquettishly at him.<p>

It's just..._different_.

It's raining and she's smiling.  
>It's raining and drops of water are resting on her nose like dew.<br>It's raining and her face is tilted up, mouth wide open, trying to drink some of it.

He just scowls and turns away.  
>Because, honestly, that's the easiest thing to do.<br>From everything except revenge. That's the only thing that matters.  
>That's what he tells himself all the time. It works, too.<p>

But sometimes, just sometimes...  
>She's different...<br>He's not sure if its the rain, or just her...but he notices it.

So once in a while, he smirks, and _then_ turns away.


	2. Reasons

He has no idea what she's doing there.  
>It's a long way away from Konoha, but there are trees all around the clearing. But judging from the looks of it, there hadn't been a clearing before.<br>She's kneeling in the grass, fingers gripping her skirt tightly, flecks of blood dotting her clothes and cheek.

From his position on a tree, he can see the tears rolling down her face.  
>A smirk graces his elegant features. Eight years, and she's still weak enough to wear her heart on her sleeve.<p>

He decides, eventually, that he wants to find out what she thinks of him.  
>After everything he's done, after the side he's taken.<p>

His feet land on the ground soundlessly. He's become even more powerful than before.  
>She still does not sense him, and he wonders how she managed to stay alive for all these years.<p>

He crouches down beside her, his mouth almost touching her cheek, and she finally starts.  
>She scrambles away from him gracelessly. Her green eyes are wide, and as luminescent as they were the last time he saw them.<p>

For a minute, neither of them speak, and then he's slammed her hard against a tree, hurting her more than necessary. He's not sure why he's doing this.

"Sasuke-kun..."  
>The endearment slips out because of habit more than anything, and Sakura is painfully aware of his fingers wrapped around her shoulders, of his warm body pressed lightly against hers, at odds with the vice-like grip of his hands.<p>

His lip curls in a condescending smirk.  
>"Is the dobe really still dead-last?"<p>

The tears in her eyes start flowing again, pathetic, and so predictable.  
>She tries to summon chakra to her arms and legs, but it's useless. She is exhausted and she still cannot find it in herself to deem him a threat, a danger, not when she remembers him as her protector, always.<p>

His eyes are starting to bleed red, and he wonders why it makes him angry that she's so weak, that she _still_ can't protect herself, that this is war, and he is her enemy.

When his sharingan burns bright in its sockets, her eyes widen even more, and she slowly goes limp.

He does not understand.

Her relaxed form starts to sag against him, and soft chakra flows off her in waves. He knows it's healing chakra.

"Sasuke-kun...I'm so glad..."  
>He can feel it prickling through his skin, soothing the twisted knots in his body, erasing the burning in the back of his eyes.<br>"You're okay..."

She lifts her head to look him in the eye, and once again, he recalls the last time he saw her.  
>Her hands are turning numb, but she struggles to lift them, and manages to place one on the side of his face.<br>The tips of her fingers are soft, and they quiver in circles on his cheek.  
>"I know you tried to kill Sai..."<br>His gaze hardens.  
>"I know what you've decided...that you wish to see Konoha burn."<br>She can no longer move her arm, and it falls back down to her side, but he does not loosen his grip.  
>"It doesn't matter", she whispers.<br>"Please,just come home..."

She chokes on the last words and finally, he relaxes his fingers.  
>He lets her fall to the ground, and once more crouches down. He's so close now, their noses are almost touching, but she doesn't look at him.<br>Her healing chakra has faded, and now his muscles tingle with it.

Sakura's eyes shut, and she loses consciousness.

He stands back up, and looks at her, sprawled pathetically at the base of a tree, in the middle of grass, far, far away from the place she calls home.  
>And he doesn't know why, but he pulls her into his arms and carries her to the nearest clinic, places her on a bed, and slips away, a new tightness in his eyes.<p> 


	3. Vanilla

A/N : Reviews are love...so...pretty please?

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><p>His head hurt. Badly.<br>No sooner had he sat up than something slammed hard into him.  
>He tensed automatically, and then relaxed.<p>

Sakura's pink hair was tickling the side of his face. She smelled like rubbing alcohol.

There were very few times he ever allowed anyone to touch him.  
>Before the massacre, the only people to extend any form of physical contact to him were his mother...and Itachi.<p>

When his mother hugged him, it was usually embarrassing.  
>When Itachi held him, he felt safe, and proud.<p>

Naruto had always been a touchy-feely type. But it goes without saying that _as an Uchiha_, he'd sooner cuddle with a tarantula.

But with Sakura...  
>He didn't have to think about it.<p>

He didn't hug her back, but underneath the hospital smell that permeated everything,he turned his face slightly into her rosette locks and searched for the light scent of vanilla he knew was there.


End file.
